“School's in, the autumn flu season approaches, the H1N1 influenza virus has been lurking all summer, and America's health officials anxiously prepare for . . . they know not what.
``The only thing certain is uncertainty,'' says Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ``This will be a unique season with both H1N1 and seasonal flu virus circulating at the same time.
``Even with our best efforts, there is going to be a lot of illness, severe illness and death.''
``This isn't the flu we're used to,'' noted Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. ``We've seen continued transmission in a summer that should not be flu season. It's never gone away.''
As flu season approaches, here are some frequently asked questions about H1N1 (also called swine flu), and their answers..”.
What I keep forgetting is that we are going to have two flu problems this year. Also the fact that H1N1 did not go away is a bit scary. I guess we will know something by October 15th. What would be bad would be if a person would get one flu and then be weak and get the other one.
Dr. Gupta offers advice to parents on H1N1
Written by Jim Howard
Tuesday, 01 September 2009 16:29
“(CNN) -- Over this past week, I had some interesting conversations with colleagues who are also health care professionals. These conversations usually start with, "You know what I hate about the media ... ?"
Now, over the past eight years, I have grown accustomed to being engaged in these sort of discussions where I am asked about everything the "media" have reported over the past few months, and asked to defend things point by point. It can be a challenging task.
This time, however, the topic was H1N1, or swine flu.
I spent the weekend thinking about what I was being told, and realized there was a larger point here.
People were scared, more than I had seen in a long time. And, health care professionals were blaming the media -- accusing them of being alarmist...”
The story has some good advice for parents at the end of the article.
CNN: Bare bottom statue controversy
Written by Jim Howard
Friday, 04 September 2009 23:50
CNN has a video story on a bare bottom statue causing controversy in one small Colorado town. Here is the video.
I think it is great. If I lived in the area I would go and have my photo taken standing next to it. If I could get away with it I would get nude and stand right next to it. I think it would be a great photo as long as I did not end up in jail.
Masks
Written by Jim Howard
Thursday, 03 September 2009 11:22
“ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- An advisory panel is recommending a major step up in protection for health workers dealing with patients suspected or confirmed to have H1N1 influenza.
The Institute of Medicine said Thursday, in recommendations requested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said loose paper masks are inadequate because the workers could still breathe in the virus.
Instead, health workers should switch to N95 respirators that form an airtight seal around the nose and mouth.
If properly fitted and worn correctly, N95 respirators filter out at least 95 percent of particles as small as 0.3 micrometers, which is smaller than influenza viruses, the report notes…”
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture symbolically slapped the news media on the hand Thursday for perpetuating the term “swine” flu in reports about the new H1N1 strain of influenza that’s spreading across the world.
In a written statement and during two telebriefings, the USDA reminded reporters that since last Spring they have “consistently asked that the media stop calling this ‘novel’ pandemic virus ‘swine flu.’”
So what’s the big deal? Health officials say the H1N1 virus more closely resembles the pandemic Spanish flu of 1918 than a swine flu. The USDA says struggling pork farmers are being hurt in a big way when the virus is called “swine flu.” USDA officials stress that “ you cannot get infected with 2009 pandemic virus from eating pork or pork products.”
“Each time the media uses the phrase ‘swine flu’ a hog farmer, their workers and their families suffer,” says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement posted on the USDA Web site. “It is simply not fair or correct to associate the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza with hogs, an animal that does not play a role in the ongoing transmission of the pandemic strain.”
USDA officials point out that China is not importing U.S. pork because of the erroneous belief that eating pork is tied to the spread of this new type of flu…”
